Said Kovalev: “Fifty is just a number. I think nothing of his age. If he was old he would be retired, but he’s still in there. He’s not an old man. He’s a young alien.”
Age aside, what makes Hopkins (55-6-2, 32 KOs) so extraordinary is that he did not have to take the most dangerous fight possible. Hopkins long ago earned the right to pick any opponent he wants. But while “Krusher” Kovalev is a fighter most want to avoid, that is what drives Hopkins.
“When I hear or read or get asked a question like, ‘You didn’t have to take this fight, you could have taken a different fight,’ I think, ‘Have you paid attention to my career?'” Hopkins said.
Said Main Events chief executive Kathy Duva, Kovalev’s promoter: “Bernard is a great fighter. There is no other way to describe him. I know what this legacy means to him. Taking this fight at this point in his life proves that.”
Division lineal champion Adonis Stevenson wanted no part of Kovalev and fled HBO for Showtime in March to avoid the fight. And if you ask Duva or the executives at HBO they say the same thing: They could not get a top opponent to fight him — that is, until Hopkins stunned everybody in late July by not only asking for the fight but getting the deal done in a matter of days, which is unheard of.
“I want the best. [Marvin] Hagler fought the best. Ray Leonard fought the best,” Hopkins said. “The [Muhammad] Alis of the world, they fought the best. I’m from the era where I fought the best, and that’s important to me. I received undisputed [middleweight] status in 2001 and that was special.
“Enjoy this while you can and come see it. Don’t worry about when or how I’m going to leave or break down. You guys are all humans. I understand you, but you don’t understand me.”
Said Kovalev, “Bernard Hopkins is a legend. He is a professor of professional boxing. This fight is dangerous for me but this fight is also dangerous for him because of me.”